


Crtl+Y

by rathernotmyname



Series: Fictober! 2020 [21]
Category: Mr. Robot (TV)
Genre: Darlene is worrying, Elliot is sleeping, Fictober! Day 21, Gen, Hospitals, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Like desperately, Pre-Episode: s04e13 Hello Elliot, Qwerty lives because I said so, The Aldersiblings need a hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:54:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28088073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rathernotmyname/pseuds/rathernotmyname
Summary: As Darlene waits for Elliot to wake up, they get an unexpected visitor who brings an even more unexpected guest.Or:How Qwerty returned to the Aldersons.
Relationships: Darlene Alderson & Elliot Alderson
Series: Fictober! 2020 [21]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2050200
Kudos: 7





	Crtl+Y

**Author's Note:**

> Author's note:  
> I DO NOT CONSENT TO MY WORK BEING HOSTED OR REPOSTED ON ANY UNOFFICIAL APPS OR WEBSITES OTHER THAN ARCHIVE OF OUR OWN WITHOUT MY APPROVAL, PARTICULARLY APPS WITH AD REVENUE AND SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES.

Darlene agrees with muting the machinery surrounding Elliot after the nurses assure her that they will get a notice in their office if something happens, no matter what.

She is silently grateful, because the constant beeping of the cardiac monitor is stressing her out and worsens her headache. Now the only thing she has to listen to is the quiet dripping sound of the infusion-thingy and Elliot’s soft breathing.

After seven hours of waiting, she takes Elliot’s hand, heart jumping into her throat when feeling how cold it is. She has to listen to him breathe some more after that to calm herself down, almost wishing back the beeping to be entirely sure.

Elliot looks… small, even smaller than usual in the way he’s lying on the hospital bed, snuggled into the thin blanket and face squished half-way against the pillow. 

His face is gray, which had scared the shit out of her at first. In any case, it was not as bad as it looked. The doctor said that he had caught a nasty concussion, but he would be right as rain in a few weeks. 

(Looking at the bags underneath Elliot’s eyes, she suddenly remembers that there had been a time when he had looked like that and worse – morphine was a deadly vice. The realization that she had grown accustomed at his non-junk-sick appearance, finally gaining a little weight and color back, does little to comfort her. She hopes that the morphine they gave him in the hospital doesn’t trigger a relapse.)

She falls asleep holding Elliot’s hand, and when someone in firefighter clothes wakes her up, she’s satisfied to notice that his hand isn’t so cold anymore.

“Excuse me,” the firefighter says, and his wide, dark-skinned face is so friendly that Darlene almost bursts into tears. 

“I’m Chief Thornton from the New Jersey FD,” the man says, shaking Darlene’s hand. 

Darlene manages a mute nod.

“My team was the one that found him.” Chief Thornton nods his head in Elliot’s direction, a sorrowful expression on his face. “He was damn lucky. I’m glad he has someone that cares about him.”

“Yeah, I do,” Darlene chokes out, not caring about the senselessness of her statement. 

And who the fuck could blame her? It’s over. No need for revenge anymore, they will never need the pact pact they made half a year ago, because it’s over, and they are both still alive.

Thornton smiles at her. “That’s good.”

When he moves closer to where Darlene sits on the uncomfortable plastic chair, she notices that there is something in his left hand. A plastic bag?

“I found this one here in the room with him,” Thornton says and holds the bag up for Darlene to see, scratching his neck almost sheepishly. “Only God knows what it was doing in there or how it survived, but I thought it would be a good idea to give it to, uh… Mr. Alderson,” he reads from the sticker on Elliot’s bed. “It’s a silly thought, but maybe as a reminder that he survived? Of course, you don’t have to take it. Couldn’t blame him if he just wanted to forget about all of it.”

And now Darlene is really close to tears because plastic bag is filled with water, and in the water swims Qwerty, as cheerful and lively as ever. 

“Thank you,” she manages to say, not acknowledging how much her voice shakes and grateful that Thornton doesn’t acknowledge it either. “Thank you so much. We’ll keep him.”

Thornton looks slightly surprised at Darlene calling the fish a “him”, but he smiles and hands over the bag. 

“Well then.” He shrugs his shoulders and turns to the door. “I wish a speedy recovery and all the best. It was nice to make your acquaintance.”

Darlene clutches the plastic bag with Qwerty in it and nods, even achieving a smile that doesn’t feel too forced. 

The firefighter leaves, and Darlene takes Elliot’s hand, leading his fingertips to touch the cool surface of the bag. 

“Qwerty is here,” she tells him quietly, finally letting a few tears of disbelief fall. “Please wake up soon, okay? I have no idea how to care for a damn fish.”

She holds his hand a little longer and cries a little, then she stands up to ask a nurse for a big carafe or something while simultaneously googling how to help a beta fish get accustomed to a change of environment and water.

On her way out, she thinks of the dream Elliot had about Qwerty being bored and begging him to move his fish tank to the window. 

She’s sure of one thing: Qwerty has certainly seen more in his life than any other fish in the world.

**Author's Note:**

> QWERTY SURVIVES IN EVERY MR STORY THAT I WRITE FROM NOW ON. IT IS LAW. *slams table*  
> There he go, my firefighter OC! I've grown fond of him, ngl.   
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
